Dear Editor, The Green Mountain Care Board publishes an annual list of Vermont hospital employees whose annual compensation tops $500,000. The list for 2020 shows a total of 59 hospital execs making more than half a million dollars a year. Fifty-nine. Eleven of them work at Rutland Regional Medical Center. Thirteen work at the University…

Dear Editor, This is in response to Kem Phillips’ letter in the Mountain Times. It appears that Kem has bought into the endless media slander of the former president. In terms of results, President Trump did more for this country in four years than any in my lifetime, going back to Eisenhower. He didn’t get…

Dear Editor, In a few short months, Vermonters will begin casting their ballots to determine party nominees for the fall elections. With so many candidates running for Congress and lt. governor, you may not hear as much about the secretary of state’s race. I urge you to take a closer look — this small office…

Dear Editor, The Democratic leadership in the Vermont legislature has proven themselves irresponsible and with no respect for every Vermont citizen. These people do not care about you as demonstrated by their disrespect for the unintended consequences of their legislation and how it will negatively affect every Vermonter, especially low income and working families. Their…

Dear Editor,  Amending the Vermont Constitution is a long and arduous process, taking four affirmative votes in the legislature (two in each chamber) over two biennia, followed by a statewide popular vote, which, for Proposal 5, will take place this November. The purpose of all this is to ensure that the public has time to…

Dear Editor, I agree wholeheartedly that spending on healthcare is out of control. But when will we address the deeper reasons why this is so?  We could certainly discuss the out-of-control salaries that administrators at many levels of this system receive, including the bureaucracy-heavy insurance companies. Or the out-of-control costs of pharmaceuticals and the other…

Dear Editor, There is a lot to object to in Mr. Thayer’s piece, “What’s wrong with being a Republican,” published last week (March 30-April 5) in the Mountain Times. I’ll address two points. The main problem is that in lauding today’s Republicans, he ignores the, shall we say, elephant in the room: Donald Trump. Note…

Dear Editor, A recent commentary by Justin Salisbury on the “Ongoing eugenics against disabled Vermonters” pointed out that Vermont has no law protecting parents against losing their children simply because they are disabled.  Disability does not automatically mean that a parent can’t safely raise a child. The current situation of disabled people in family law…

Dear Editor, Recently, I read a social media exchange between a mother and her teenage daughter. The mother asked the girl, “What’s wrong?” and the girl responded, “I don’t want people to think I’m a Republican.” That made me stop in my tracks, and I thought, “What is wrong with being a Republican?” Most Republicans…

Dear Editor, Americans now need to look to Ukraine for examples of bravery and heroism. The coverage of multimillionaire oligarchs and mega-yachts are highlighted while children and pregnant women are being bombed out of their homes and rooms and old people and their dogs are facing down the incredibly “brave” Russian soldiers. Then we look…

Dear Editor, Nestle is refusing to join the Russia boycott and defends its decision over Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s blunt criticism. Nestle is based in Switzerland, which has always kept a politically neutral stance. The do-or-die, raw courage and ironclad determination shown by the Ukrainians have arrested the attention of the entire world. CNNBusiness quoted Zelenskyy:…

Dear Editor, In former Vermont secretary of education Rebecca Holcome’s commentary published in the Mountain Times, March 23, titled “Unintended consequences: Vermont Senate Bill 219 on course to hand a weapon to the religious right” is pure sophistry. If anything, school choice is the epitome of educational democracy. And, if anything, Vermont’s public-school monopoly is…

Dear Editor, Please excuse the proud parent quoting a letter of our son Gregory Crowther to state Senators in the Seattle area. He writes about a bill designed to expand and make permanent fluoridation in Washington State. His remarks are worth sharing in fluoridated Rutland, because they focus on fluoride and body function, often overlooked…

Dear Editor, In 1997, when I was eligible to join, I proudly became a member of VSECU (at that time Vermont State Employees Credit Union, now known as VSECU) because I wanted to put my hard-earned money in a Vermont-based financial institution whose mission and values I share. As a member/owner of this cooperative, I…

Dear Editor, In 2021 with the passage of Act 34, Vermont took a small step toward reducing the toxic class of chemicals known as PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) which are allowed to be sold, manufactured, and imported into our state. Act 34 bans select PFAS-containing products like stain-resistant rugs/carpets, food packaging and ski wax.…